Only the Good
by TwilightNightsIntoDreams
Summary: Dusk had one mission in life-get as strong as she could to protect her people should the need arise, but she never bothered to ask herself why?...at least, that was until a certain black hedgehog came along.
1. An Awkward Intro

**You know when you have an idea but you're not quite sure how to start it...? Well I say just jump right in! Therefore this story begins in the middle. I've had this story in my head for almost a week now but it's been difficult for me to continue developing it in my head, so I figured writing it will help. I don't plan on having anymore OC's than the two that are introduced in this chapter, but I guess anything's possible later on. Now let the awkwardness begin…**

She couldn't help but notice the strange black hedgehog glaring at her from directly across the table. He made the hair on the back of her neck stick up.

He wasn't just stealing a glance…he'd been staring at her for a good five minutes straight, ever since she had belatedly joined everyone for dinner.

_Maybe it's his first time here on the planet Nadia...maybe he's just never seen our kind before._

Though that was true, nadians weren't a difficult race to adjust to. They were a hybrid species, half human and half animal, not as tall a humans but slightly taller than the anamorphic animals like the ebony hedgehog and ivory bat, who were currently happened to be sitting at her mother's grand dining room table…_why?_ She had yet to discover.

Maybe if the dark hedgehog would stop staring at her, she could actually focus on the conversation going on and find out something about these strange newcomers.

00000000000

Before the girl had arrived, Queen Zaila Rousseau had boasted to us several times how much her daughter looked like her.

But in reality, the girl looked almost as though she were her mother's opposite.

Admittedly, Queen Zaila was beautiful, as well as charming, and I had a hunch she was extremely strong willed.

She was tall and pale skinned with long light blonde hair and white pointed dog ears rested atop her head giving her an air of decided innocence. She also had soft yet piercing yellow eyes.

The girl she identified as her daughter, on the other hand, was very small, I doubt she'd even reach eye level with me, leading me to assume she couldn't be older than Cream the Rabbit and she looked just as innocent.

Her hair was dark blonde and cut into an a-line bob, the front ends reaching past her shoulders. Like her mother, she was also part canine but the fur on her ears was black rather than white.

I casually glanced at her round, childish face. She had a similar facial structure to her mother's, a small nose and chin and soft blushing cheeks.

As I continued upward, I noticed the two large orbs that were her eyes sheepishly peering at everyone sitting around the table.

While her curious eyes wandered she 'accidently' looked up and made eye contact with me and for a split second my own eyes locked with her large deep ruby red eyes before she seemed to immediately regret looking up and blushed, quickly dropping her gaze down to the untouched food on the plate in front of her.

But I couldn't stop staring at her eyes, in that split second I had seen a number of different emotions but one had stood out to me.

Fear.

_This girl is afraid…of what?_

_Who knows? _

_She's a princess on a beautiful planet without a want in the world. _

_What could a girl so young and innocent be so afraid of?_

_Wait, what does that matter? _

_She's no one to me. _

I realized that while I'd been lost in thought my gaze had never left the girl's face and it seemed that my examination was making her uncomfortable because now she was avoiding looking up at all costs. Right as I was about to consciously turn away from her, an angry shout interrupted my thoughts.

000000000

"Dusk!" The queen shouted, acknowledging her daughter's presence for the first time since the ten minutes ago she'd arrived.

The frightened girl jumped and quickly answered to the high pitched voice across the table, stumbling over her words.

"Ye-yes m-mother..?" Her ears folded down and her tail drooped as she seemed to already anticipate some sort of degradation coming her way, wondering only at what her mother's excuse for it could be this time.

"You really are a useless girl! I invited visitors, honored guests, from another planet here to dine in my palace, to show them what wonderful conversation and entertainment we nadians can supply, and yet my own daughter can't even speak one word to them after arriving late! AND you don't even eat the delicious food I have provided for you! Really Dusk, you have no manners! I expect more from you!"

Everyone at the table, her mother, the fat bald man sitting next to her, the seductive ivory bat across from him and the strange dark hedgehog all now had their attention fixed on Dusk, who nervously struggled to account for her behavior.

"I-I'm sorry…mother. But you know I'm always late on Thursdays because of my training…and well today I-"

But before she could explain, the queen's tirade continued.

"I don't want to hear your excuses! I want you to behave yourself as a princess should, understand?"

All attention fixed on her once again. Dusk struggled to compose her words and decided she'd say anything to escape all the eyes on her.

"…Yes…of course, your highness. I'm sorry…"

"No matter... I suppose you have had a long day…you may go to your room and rest."

Dusk couldn't help but ponder on how much she felt like a subject sometimes compared to a daughter.

"Yes, thank you mother…"

She quickly stood up and turned away from the table, relieved to escape the odd group of strangers, but as she walked towards the large dining room entrance, she noticed a cold sweat forming on the back of her neck and her body began to heat up.

All of a sudden, her throat tightened and with each step her vision began to go black.

She recognized that her brain was not getting enough oxygen but it was too late.

She blacked out and collapsed on the ground.

000000000

"Dusk!...Guards!" The Queen shouted. "The princess has collapsed, she is unwell!"

Within 2 seconds half a dozen armored dog-eared men were marching through the dining room and to the sleeping body of Dusk which they carefully picked up.

"Take her to her room! And send for the royal doctor!" The distraught queen commanded.

All obeyed except one of the guards who came up to Zaila and whispered something in her ear that he thought the rest of us wouldn't hear, I being the only one who actually did because of my acute senses.

The words he had whispered were loud and clear to me -"The princess has a large gash across her stomach, she's losing a lot of blood and needs stitches."

"See it is done. The doctor should arrive any moment. Proceed without me, I will stay with my guests."

"As you wish, my queen."

The guard performed a low formal bow to her before exiting the same way he and the rest had come in.

Zaila, remembered the rest of us still here at the table and her whole complexion changed as she turned back to us and overly graciously remarked "I am so very sorry for the inconvenience everyone. The princess will be just fine. She just needs a bit of rest."

She smiled her charming reassuring smile and began leading us to the entertainment hall but this whole situation was getting rather suspicious and putting me on guard.

The sooner we get this mission done and leave here, the better.

_But why in the world was that girl bleeding…_

**Sooooo that's the start. I stayed up til 3 am writing this because my mind wouldn't let me rest until I got it out. I'm not too great at descriptions of places but I'll try to work on that. Let me know what you guys think so far. I've got a plan but it's variable so it can change, but I wanna hear what you guys want. I know I haven't given you much to go off of yet but I promise I will if I hear from you guys. Reviews please **


	2. Secrets

She fell in and out of consciousness as her closest friend, one of the guardsmen, hurriedly carried her up to her room. The others marched either in front of or behind them.

Every few seconds that she retained her conscious thoughts, the guilt returned.

She felt guilty for making her friends, the guards, trouble themselves over her, guilty for ruining her mother's dinner.

_So stupid. _

_Why can I just go to sleep and die right now?_

And then her eyes rolled back as the pulsating heat on her stomach returned.

She drifted back into unconsciousness.

When she awoke she was no longer on the move, but on a soft, stable surface.

She sensed that this was a room she knew well and that several hours had passed since the scene she'd made at dinner. All of a sudden she felt a stinging pain on her stomach as she remembered where her wound was. It felt like a thousand needles jabbing her.

She forced her heavy eyes open and was welcomed by a mostly dark room with the exception of her dim bedside light on to her right. She looked across the room and began to recognize the ridiculously girly furniture her mother had decorated Dusk's room with.

Upon entering the spacious room to the left could be seen the westward window with its lacey white curtains lightly blowing in the gentle summer breeze. To the left of the window was her white and pink, Victorian wardrobe which mostly contained fluffy dresses that she only wore when forced, and next to that was the folding shade that she often changed behind. Against the north wall were two white and pink dressers that matched the rest of the room and contained even more clothing that she'd probably never wear. Between these was her matching vanity where she sometimes stared at herself while the maidservants attempted to do…something different to her hair, although it never seemed to turn out quite right. On the east wall was her king sized, lace covered canopy bed filled with more pillows and ruffles than she'd ever need and with a nightstand and lamp on each side.

As she turned her head towards the light on her right, she struggled as her eyes adjusted to focus on the figure sitting at her side.

At first she saw only a blur of grey but slowly her eyes began to recognize the bushy grey eyebrows and silver-black hair surrounding her grandfather's wrinkly tan face.

"I'd close my eyes back up if I were you." He remarked

She folded one ear down and gave him a perplexed look until her eyes fell down to where his were focused.

"Oh," was all she said as she looked down at the right side of her waist where he held a large threaded needle a little too close for Dusk's comfort.

"Eek!" She screamed as she squeezed her eyes shut and covered them with her small hands just in time to avoid seeing the needle delve into her broken flesh.

"I'm sorry, I know how you hate needles, but I was counting on the drugs to keep you under. You have to be sewn up before the wound can begin to heal."

"I know, I know—ow!" She shrieked as the needle pierced her skin once again.

"No drug ever works on me for long," she sighed, "but it is handy to have a doctor in the family." She pulled her hands away from her face for a moment to appreciatively smile at him. "Thanks for coming, grandfather."

He paused his needlework and looked up at her from under the glasses on the tip of his nose and smiled, "Of course, my dear."

"I've been at your mother's beckon call since the day she was born and I'm sure I shall be until the day that I die."

Dusk didn't like that image. Her grandfather slaving away for her mother in his old age until one day when he finally drops DEAD.

She furrowed her brow and her face contorted in disgust.

"What's the matter, my child?" Her grandfather asked, unaware of the distasteful thoughts swarming around in her head.

"Oh, nothing." She lied, looking down as her grandfather snipped the extra thread holding her flesh together and began bandaging her up.

"With your healing abilities you'll be good as new by tomorrow night" He gave her a wrinkly smile as he closed his medical bag and reached up to ruffle her hair.

"Thanks again, grandfather, without you I'd be a goner" She winked at him.

He smiled back as he rose and began to walk out of the room but stopped when he reached the door.

Still facing the door with his back to her he started, "But Dusk…how exactly did you get such a ghastly gash today? I know your training each day often brings you home a little banged up, but…it seems to be getting worse lately."

He now turned round to face her, with that loving but worried grandfatherly look on his face.

"…"

She lowered her eyes, seeming be fighting within herself whether to tell him the truth or to once again lie a little longer.

_It's for his protection. _

_He wouldn't understand._

He continued, "I know you're far stronger than I'm aware but I worry about whether your mother is pushing you too hard. Perhaps after your wound heals it would be a good idea to take a break from training, even a short one. You could get out of the capital for a few days and out to the country, to calm. Get away from the stresses of everyday life."

Though he did not voice it, Dusk knew what he implied to say: _away from your mother._

Dusk entertained that thought for a moment. Getting away from it all did sound pretty nice. No more getting up a 4 am everyday to prepare for that grueling training she was forced to do 12 hours a day, 365 days of the year…what a dream.

Then she snapped back into reality, remembering that she couldn't afford to miss her training, she had to be prepared for danger at any given moment.

She regained her carefree composure and smiled as reassuringly as she could as she looked up at him, "No worries grandfather, I'll be just fine! Maybe in a couple more months I can go on that vacation but I can hold out until then, no sweat!"

Recognizing that he had lost this battle, he looked down smiling and shaking his head.

"Oh Dusk, one day I'll have you locked up for your own good. Then you'll have to follow the doctor's orders."

She chuckled at his jest as he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Dusk adjusted herself in her bed until she found a slightly painless position halfway on her left side, and halfway on her back. It is in this semi-comfortable position that she peacefully drifted off to sleep, and began dreaming of getting away from it all.

00000000

After Doctor Rousseau left Dusk's room he continued down the broad hallways of the palace and a few stair ways until he came to one particular hallway deep in the palace.

He went down it about halfway then stopped and looked around to make sure no one had seen him.

He then turned to the wall on his left and placed his right hand on the petals of one of the wallpaper flowers.

A small light emitted from behind his palm as a hidden scanner recognized his hand print.

After a couple seconds the wall in front of him slid open to reveal a hidden hallway.

"Bingo! So that's where the real dough must be!" A seductive female voice exclaimed from behind Doctor Rousseau.

The Doctor jumped as he realized he'd not been alone after all and that he'd exposed an intruder to this top secret hallway.

"Hey wait! You-you can't be here!" He cried as he turned to face Rouge the Bat floating above him.

"Oh don't worry grandpa, no one will ever know " she cooed as she winked one eye and seductively rubbed one of his cheeks with her white gloved hand.

"W-wha? No! Who are you really?" He demanded while blushing at how ridiculously close her face was to his.

"Enough of this!" A rough voice shouted behind him.

Doctor Rousseau suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back and his vision began to dim as he fell down to the ground, his body limp beneath him.

Rouge softened his fall, gently lowering the aged man to the ground.

"Jeeze Shad, you could've at least been a little bit gentler with the old man." Rouge remarked at the black hedgehog that had knocked him out.

"You were wasting time. Hurry up, let's go." Shadow raised his wrist communicator to his mouth and spoke in it, "Doctor we've found the entrance to their lab. We're going in."

From the other end Eggman replied, "Well done Shadow, stay on your guard though. There's no telling what kind of security these nadians could have equipped."

"Right doctor."

The last thing Doctor Rousseau saw before he completely passed out was the rogue pair heading down the hall before the door closed behind them.

_Dusk…_

**Sooooo I guess I ended up adding another OC after all but he fit in perfectly with this chapter. Slowly but surely I'm forming a plot!**

**Review please!**


	3. Nothing's Ever Easy

**This chapter took longer to write than I would've liked, it was almost painful. In between school and work and sleep I kinda lost inspiration for a few weeks but it's finally up now. Thanks for your review, ****FireWolfHeart. In response, yeah Dusk is under quite a bit of pressure and though Shadow described her as looking very young physically, that was just from his own perspective. Her exact age is...not important yet :)**

**Shadow**

"I'm surprised this place doesn't have many security deterrents. Considering this is supposed to be where all of the planet's top secret information is kept, you'd think they'd protect it a little better," I observed as Rouge and I walked down the spacious passage and deeper within the palace.

Rouge, walking on my right side, stared at the various old and mostly faded pictures and manuscripts that decorated the walls of the corridor as she replied, "Who cares? This place gives me the heebie-jeebies. Hopefully it won't take too long to download all of their info. I can't wait to get back to the egg carrier and take a nice warm bath. The overall temperament of this planet is too cold for my blood."

"Ha," was all I replied as we continued walking, my eyes constantly scanning the hall for any possible sign of an alarm trigger.

She was right. This planet was different from the last few we'd visited. Although we'd received the most hospitality of anywhere else, the feeling this place gave you was almost eerie enough to send chills down your spine, if you're even capable of feeling fear-which I'm not. Although the people seemed nice, it felt like they had been putting on a show for us. The queen had gone all out earlier this evening. The service was exceptional. The only thing that seemed to put a ripple in the night's events was that strange red-eyed girl. She presented…variations in what the queen seemed to have originally intended for the night. Anyways, that doesn't really matter. Yes this place is strange but we'll be light years away from here in a few hours.

We walked on for 10 minutes or so and I continued looking around the corridor. The worn carpet lining the floor was red and dirty. The walls had transitioned from being fully covered by wallpaper to almost completely bare with random scraps of red plastered against them. The walls were actually made of metal under the wallpaper, perhaps to better stabilize this place in case of an accident. There were a few random dusty pictures still hanging sideways on the walls but most of them had fallen to the floor. I noticed Rouge had stopped to look at one of them.

"We don't have time for family albums," I said, anxious to find this stupid control room already.

"Don't lose your stripes, I'm just curious. What's the point of having pictures back here if no one will ever see them?"

She picked up one of the fallen photos, rubbing the dust off as she examined it. I walked over to take a look as well. No wonder the picture was hidden back here. Half of it was torn off and figure in the remaining half was unrecognizable. The faded silhouette seemed to be small; probably a woman and it appeared she might be holding something, a baby maybe? Who knows?

"Keep moving," I commanded, walking away and deeper into the passage

"Hmph," Rouge apathetically replied as she dropped the picture and flew over to catch up to me.

"I think we're getting closer," I said. As we walked, I noticed that now the hallway was almost completely metal on all sides and that the previous blackness up ahead seemed to be clearing up. It looked like we were approaching a dead end, most likely a door.

"Finally, my feet are killing me!" Rouge said as she quickly flew into the air and towards the end of the hall just in time for me to notice a small light in the approaching upper right corner of the room.

_An alarm!_

"Rouge, stop—" I started to yell, and she saw it too, but it was too late. As soon as she passed by it the room went red and an alarm began to sound.

"Just what we needed. Let's go!" I ran up, grabbed Rouge by the arm and sped towards the door.

It was locked by a keypad that I didn't have the patience to decipher.

"Hurry and set the charges," I said, looking around to see if anyone was coming. No one was but far back towards the entrance I could see security doors coming down and slamming into the ground every five feet, one after another trying to box us in so we couldn't get back out. Good thing we have chaos control.

"Ready," Rouge said once the charges were down.

"Alright, stand back," I closed my eyes and raised one hand towards the door, "Chaos spear!"

The bright flaming arrows flew directly towards the center of the door setting off the charges on impact.

We shielded our eyes as dust and debris flew by. Once I could see the opening I led us through to the control room.

"Woah, are you sure were in the right place, Shad?"

We both looked around the room. _This_ is supposed to be their high-tech, top secret control center? The room may have once been considered advanced but it looked like it hadn't been touched in at least a decade. The entire room was metal and dusty with various large computer screens lining the walls. Against the far wall was what I could only imagine to be some sort of an observing station. It was a hard but translucent walled chamber with tubes attached to the top of it. Maybe they had kept somebody in there at one time and took reports on the observed behaviors. In the center of the room was a circular computer station—the control center. All of the machinery was off and it didn't really look capable of functioning at all but there was only way to find out.

"Yeah, I guess this is it," I said, walking up to the control center. "Alright we're in, now let's hurry up and get out of here before they get down here."

Rouge giggled, "Is the ultimate life form scared of a little combat tonight? I would've thought you'd be all for some action."

My eyes narrowed and I grunted, "You know that's not it. It'd just be nice if we could have just one uncomplicated mission though. I grow weary of our travels." I thought back over the last few months during which we had obtained four of the seven chaos emeralds from different galaxies. Not one of those emeralds had been particularly _easy _to obtain. Hopefully this one would be.

"Well like it or not we've still got a ways to go stripes. Don't worry, you'll get your beauty sleep soon enough," She winked as she turned and walked up to the control center searching for the power switch.

br

She located it and switched it on. The whole room slowly began to light up and the main computer flickered to life.

"Wow it actually works. Maybe this will be easier than we thought."

As soon as Rouge exclaimed those words we both turned to hear what sounded like marching down in the corridor. The pair quickly began to recognize the approaching figures as the guard men they'd seen earlier that night.

_I guess the alarm had worked_.

"Oops, sorry sugar, guess I spoke too soon," Rouge lamented. "You wanna handle that while I finish up here?"

I sighed, "Fine."

Rouge began downloading the files and the guards finally caught up to the entrance of the control room. I stood there, their only barrier between the control room.

"Get down on the ground right now and put your hands where we can see them!" The leader of the guards shouted.

I smiled smugly and took another step towards the squadron who were now kneeling on the ground with their weapons aimed.

_If they really think those toy guns stand a chance against me they'll be sorry._

"I'm warning you! You have three seconds to get down on the ground before we open fire! Men, load your weapons and prepare to fire!"

A series of clicks followed and I could hear ring of the power building in their weapons.

I took another step closer.

"Three!"

_Foolish creatures…_

Another step.

"Two!"

_How dare you underestimate_

Another step.

"This is your last chance buddy!"

_The power of the Ultimate Life Form…_

"One!-Open fire!"

"Chaos Blast!"

**Dusk**

_What's going on?.._

_Something's not right.._

_Grandfather?_

I awoke in a cold sweat, sitting straight up in my bed. I looked at the clock by my window. 2:09 AM. All of a sudden, the realization that I'd been wounded came back to me and I felt the stinging pain on my side. I lay back down in bed.

Those voices I'd heard had seemed so real. When grandfather had left my room I fell asleep listening to his footsteps trail away but once I was asleep, it seemed like my ears kept following him. He'd gone down many halls, somewhere I'd definitely never been, and he was about to go down another when someone..hurt him? No..no. That must've been a dream. _Who would hurt grandfather?_ This palace is the safest place on the planet. He must've put some sort of drug on my wound. That's probably where that crazy dream came from.

_Maybe I just need some air._

I carefully got up and half walked, half limped over to the window, leaning on it for support. I looked out at the city of Crystalis in the light of our two moons. It was breathtaking. The tall buildings rose up in spirals, hovering vehicles could be seen zooming through the sky. The light of the moons reflected off the buildings in the kind of bluish-green spectrum seen in opals. Past the city I saw a large lake surrounded by beautiful green mountains which the sun rose behind every day.

"Wow…"

_Someday this'll all be mine, or at least that's what I'm told._

I yawned, remembering my impending training in a few hours and turned to walk er…limp back towards my bed.

All of a sudden, my ears perked up as I heard someone rushing towards my room.

The door flew open and it was my mother, her face was more distraught than I'd ever seen it and she seemed…afraid? I'd never seen her express fear or uncertainty so I couldn't be sure.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What's wrong? Your grandfather has been attacked!" There are intruders in the castle and I believe they even took out our guards and are seeking top secret nadian information! That's what's wrong! Finally all your training will come to good use. You must protect your people Dusk. You must fight!"

"…grandfather"

"Well don't just stand there! Go prove that you're not as worthless as you behave!"

Her words brought back the sting of my wound. My cheeks burned and my eyes watered and narrowed as I looked directly into hers in disgust. I dropped my hand from my wounded side and stood up straight.

" Tell me where to go."

**Rereading this chapter before posting it I laughed a little at the ending because Dusk is pissed off and all I can think of when I read her last line is the song by E40-"Tell Me When to Go" and I just imagine her getting crunk hahaha...anyways, make my day a little and leave me a holler yo. Any reviews would be appreciated. **

**-Nights**


	4. Encounter

**Ok so in my last chapter I attempted to try something different in having the characters describing the story themselves and I didn't really like how it felt, it was much harder to write. So from now on I'll stick to what I know and do my job as narrator.**

**Dusk**

Since none of the guards had returned from the scene of conflict, Dusk's dearly beloved mother had no choice but to escort her to the location of the intruders herself. She led her down many halls that the princess had never cared to venture through before. They came to a halt at an entry way in the middle of a wall. Zaila slowly raised one finger and pointed straight ahead into this new hall. "There." That was all she said and she looked down at Dusk, waiting for the small girl to head through the corridor.

In her head Dusk was terrified to go in there. The opponents she fought during training everyday were one thing; at least with them she knew what to expect. But whoever or whatever is down that hallway took out an entire squadron of the royal guard for who knows what reason.

_What Nadian secrets could be worth the loss of such good people_?

Dusk couldn't help but think of her closest friend the guardman, Brock, who'd carried her to her room unconscious just a few hours ago. Dusk didn't have many friends…but Brock had been one of them.

As she let her heart go out to her loss, Dusk began to feel her cheeks and eyes burn again. Then she remembered the queen was standing there waiting for her to head down the hall, into the unknown. _She_ stood two feet away from Dusk, cold and emotionless, offering no comfort for all that had transpired in the last ten minutes. Zaila acted as if the girl should follow her example and behave as though she didn't feel anything either.

_Is that what it really means to be strong?...I don't think I could ever do that…but I can't let her see me cry either._

Dusk quickly calmed her body's emotional reactions and took a few steps forward until her back was toward the queen, who could no longer see her daughter's face.

Without turning around Dusk hesitantly asked, "Will grandfather be alright?"

She knew the fear of what answer she'd receive was showing on her face; her cheeks were on fire, and she struggled to keep her ears and tail from drooping, but she took comfort in the fact that Zaila couldn't see these things.

Her mother's tone was calm and even, "He's in the sick bay, sleeping but stable. The emergency doctor said his injuries were minimal, just a slight bump on the head. He was very fortunate"

"Oh," was all Dusk could reply, surprised and relieved she hadn't been yelled at this time. "Thank you.."

She started to walk down the hall, feeling almost…happy, knowing that grandfather might be awake by the time she got back.

"Dusk?" Zaila called.

Surprised by what seemed like possible concern in her voice Dusk turned around and replied, "Y-Yes?"

_Is she actually kind of worried about me right now?_

"Don't underestimate your enemy, or you will fail."

_Nope, I guess not! _

"…"

As Zaila turned and began walking away, the visibly disappointed Nadian child looked down as she quietly replied, "Of course, mother…I won't let you down." With that she turned and began running down the passage, tears streaming down her cheeks.

**Shadow**

The bright red light of the chaos blast had faded away and Shadow, now crouching on the ground, stood up and examined his surroundings.

Where there had still been wallpaper on the walls the metal was now completely exposed. The entrance of the control center that he had partially blasted earlier was now completely gone, and not one guard had been left standing, their bodies lay limp upon the floor.

Shadow's brow furrowed and he crossed his arms as he looked over his doings. _I gave them fair warning. _

He suddenly remembered Rouge was still standing in front of the main computer, completely focused on her work. He walked up next to her, "Well? What have you found?"

After thirty seconds of silence Rouge finally broke her gaze away from the screen and replied "A lot."

Shadow raised one brow in question and Rouge continued, "Well, the only way for you to really know is to read all this yourself. The only problem is the second set of the files is encrypted in some other language that I've never seen before, probably some old language of the Nadians. Just the same though, I've forwarded all of the files to Eggie and I'm just waiting to hear back on whether he wants us to go back to the Egg Carrier or do anything else here."

Shadow sighed, "And what of the emerald-the entire reason we came to this trifling place?" Do these files tell where they've hidden it?"

Closing her large blue eyelids Rouge leaned on the control center and replied, "Well…yes and no. The English encrypted files describe the emerald having been secured in a weapon that was designed for the planet's protection, but what and where that weapon is, the files don't say. I'm not even finding any schematics or designs for this thing so who knows what it could look like."

Shadow closed his eyes for a moment thinking over her words, "Hmmm, and you've told all this to the doctor?" He opened his eyes back up to look at her.

"Of course, you know me" she said winking and blowing a kiss.

_Yeah a little better than I'd like. I guess I'll take her word for it, we'll hear back from the doctor soon._

**Zaila**

The queen walked back up to her room. Along the way she smiled to herself. The palace was peaceful.

She reached her room, closed the door, and changed into her night dress. She was about to get into bed when someone knocked at her door.

"Who's there?" She asked, putting on one of her silk robes .

"Duncan, your majesty."

Recognizing the voice of her newest palace guard, the queen called out, "You may enter."

The door opened and the young man walked in. He was tall for his age; the same height as the majority of her guards but much younger, only 16 years old. His features were bold and strong but his face retained the softness and innocence of youth. During one of the annual festival parades several weeks ago, Zaila had noticed him in the crowd and immediately drafted him into her royal guard. His mother was widowed and he worked in the in the vineyards to support the two of them. He hadn't wanted to leave his mother but Zaila had offered to pay him highly and support his mother with a modest salary as well. The queen recognized the qualities of the young man—bravery, strength, fearlessness; qualities she must have in her royal guard…and that she wished her own daughter would display.

Duncan stood just inside the doorway, standing tall, "I have a question for you, my queen."

"Sit down Duncan," she said motioning to a gorgeously upholstered chair near the entrance.

"Thank you, your grace," Duncan sat down and began, "My queen…there's something bothering me."

Zaila walked past him and stood in front of her window looking out of it. "Go on."

"Those alien strangers that dined with you tonight. They're the ones that infiltrated the control room aren't they?"

He wasn't amused but continued, "When you dined with them, were you aware of their true motives?"

"I think you know the answer to that. What do you think."

She still had her back to him and he was beginning to get annoyed, frustration spiking his tone "I think you knew their plan from the moment they arrived. I think you invited them here to make them feel safe so that they would infiltrate the castle trying to get whatever valuable information you may have here but what I don't understand is why, after they get in here, you send a squadron of the royal guard in there to attack them and they just end up getting killed and no attempts have even been made to retrieve their bodies! They were loved and valued men, my friends and your loyal servants! Did you know they would get killed? And after all that now you're sending the princess to wage battle against them? That's your daughter and she's injured! Is she disposable too?"

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"Enough! Everyone is disposable when it comes down to what's best for the kingdom!" Zaila swerved around, fury burning in her eyes as she stared into his. "First of all, you have no right to question my motives. Any decision I make is for the good of my people, for their protection! But out of courtesy to you I will answer your inquiries. Yes, I knew the outsiders' plans, but I did not know how strong they were. I knew they'd strike soon and the only way to test their power was to send a squadron to fight them. If they succeeded than that would've been fine, and all would've been settled. But they didn't succeed, they were wiped out so I had no choice but to send Dusk out to fight, she was born to defend Nadia. Besides, it'll do her good to put her abilities to use, she needs to be tested as well." Zaila turned her attention back to her open window, "You may leave now, Duncan."

The young guard lowered his ears and sighed. He walked up to the queen, and kneeled down on one knee and bowed his head, "Forgive me, my queen." Zaila allowed him to kneel there for a few seconds before she placed her right hand in front of his face. He took it in his own and kissed her ring of the royal crest. "You are forgiven, Duncan, you may go." He rose, thanked the queen, and began to walk out. "And Duncan," she called after him. "Your highness?" he responded. "Do not question my supremacy again. I'm counting on your loyalty." He stared at her for a moment. "Yes your highness." The door shut.

**Shadow**

Shadow was just about ready to transport himself and Rouge back to the Egg Carrier when Eggman finally radioed them back.

"_Shadow, are you and Rouge still in the control center?"_

_No, unfortunately my attempts have been unsuccessful. We'll need someone to translate it or us."_

"Are you suggesting we obtain a hostage for that purpose?"

"_Dealing with hostages can be such a messy business, but I think that right now we don't much choice."_

Rouge cut in, "Well who should we grab, the next random person we find?"

"_I guess that's the best plan, preferably, someone that won't put up a struggle, maybe we could even use them as a ransom to get the queen to reveal the location of their secret weapon and chaos emerald. Oooh goody I do like the sound of that, why didn't I think of it in the first place? I'd prefer if you got a child, they're easily managed and people will do anything for a child." _

"Right doctor, we should be back on the ship in no more than an hour."

"_Very good Shadow, Eggman out."_

"Hmmm, so are we going to head into the city and pick up the first kid we find?" Rouge asked.

"That sounds like the simplest plan," Shadow replied.

Shadow suddenly turned around back towards the entrance to the control room, "Do you hear that?" Rouge turned around as well, "Yeah someone's coming-and fast." Shadow began walking forward, "I'll handle this." The speeding figure slowed as it neared the entrance to the control room. By the time it was ten feet away from Shadow it had slowed to a slow gait. Shadow crouched into battle position preparing to strike his opponent with chaos spear. He looked up and recognized her—_the girl!_ _What in the world is she doing here?_ She looked rather flustered and upset. Her face was red and wet with _tears?_ She looked confused and surprised to see the pair there. But Dusk quickly forgot her surprise and crouched into battle position as well, her eyes burning with fury locked on Shadow's, her fangs bared.

**I enjoyed this chapter, I hope you did too Reviews, porfavor!**


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